WASHINGTON, DC.- Declaration of Independence: The Stone Copy presents one of only 31 existing copies of the “Stone” facsimile of the historic document in the American galleries of the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, May 28 through September 5, 2011. On loan from David M. Rubenstein, it is installed near American painter Gilbert Stuart’s portraits of Declaration of Independence signers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee of five to draft a statement asserting the American colonies’ independence from Great Britain. John Adams and the other committee members agreed that Thomas Jefferson should undertake the task. On July 4, after debate and revision, Congress approved the document and soon ordered that the declaration be written large and legibly on parchment for official purposes, and signed by all members of Congress. The Declaration of I